F1 Academy driver Aiva Anagnostiadis, shares her tips ahead of the title-deciding F1 race
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
Promising Greek-Australian Formula 1 Academy driver Aiva Anagnostiadis hopes team orders won’t decide Oscar Piastri’s fate in this Sunday’s three-way shoot-out for the 2025 F1 World Drivers’ Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
McLaren has come under fire throughout the season for issuing team orders to both Lando Norris and Piastri—decisions that have often disadvantaged the young Australian and forced him to gift positions.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Ouzo Talk podcast, Anagnostiadis—who grew up racing at the same Melbourne karting track as Piastri—said she hopes both drivers will be allowed to race freely.
“I just hope the team can get their stuff sorted so that Piastri can come home with the win,” the 18-year-old said.
“I don’t think McLaren would like it, but if he’s given team orders he should just ignore it and go. There’s an F1 World Championship on the line. If you’re told to pull over and let someone else win, I’d go ‘stuff this’ and just keep going!’
She added that if both McLaren drivers are fighting for P1, the team needs to step back:
“If you’re fifth and Lando has to win the Championship, okay—you take team orders. But when you’re fighting for P1? I’m hoping the team says, ‘Go out and race and let the best man win.’”
Aiva speaks from experience. Considered one of Australia’s brightest young prospects aiming for a future in Formula 1, she understands the pressures Piastri and other drivers face.
McLaren is already under intense scrutiny following a disastrous strategic error at the Qatar GP, which allowed reigning champion Max Verstappen to close the gap in the standings. With Norris currently leading and Piastri still in contention, the season finale has become a historic three-way championship battle. The team is also still dealing with the fallout of its double disqualification at the Las Vegas GP.
Although Anagnostiadis grew up supporting Verstappen, she is hoping Piastri’s composure helps him seal the title.
“Obviously there’s a World Championship on the line and things going on behind the scenes we don’t fully know, but Oscar is quite calm,” she said.
“I hope he can do it because it would be awesome. I think Australians will parade through the streets like when Argentina wins the football! The number of people I’ve seen getting into Formula 1 because of this—it’s going to be a huge celebration.”
Anagnostiadis, who also has Italian heritage, is the daughter of accomplished karter Barbara Anagnostiadis, and her brother James is part of the Mercedes Junior Team. She won the 2021 Ladies Trophy in the Australian Karting Championship and represented Australia in Karting Sprint Seniors at the FIA Motorsport Games.
Her CV includes racing across the UK, France, Spain (Formula Winter Series and F4 Championships), as well as appearances in India.
This year the rising star joined Hitech TGR with support from Tag Heuer to compete in the 2025 F1 Academy season. She is currently recovering from a broken foot, which forced her to miss the final rounds, but she is set to return to racing in 2026. The F1 Academy’s 2025 season was featured in a popular Netflix docuseries tracking the journeys of the all-female grid.
*Billy Cotsis is the author of Aristotle Roberto Carlos Smithopoulos.
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
